When I was about 14 years old, I suddenly decided that I wanted to be a vegetarian for no particularly good reason other than I thought it was sort of grown-up and glamorous-sounding. In the years since I have obviously returned to my carnivorous ways, but my brief stint in the land of vegetables had a happy byproduct: my mother made me spinach lasagna all the time.
This beauty is easy, relatively inexpensive (about $30 all told), capable of feeding even the hungriest couple for at least three days (a week if you’re flying solo), and easy to transform into a meat lasagna if that’s your preference (just brown hamburger meat along with the onions before adding the tomatoes to the sauce).
Oh, and it’s the most delicious lasagna on the planet. I mean that.
The original recipe, from Mom’s high school recipe box (love her Secret Stash nailpolish!).
What you need:
For the sauce:
1 large can diced tomatoes (I like Redpack)
1 large can tomato puree
1 small yellow onion, finely diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp summer savory
1 tsp garlic salt
1 tsp sugar (optional)
1/3 cup water
Salt & pepper
Olive oil
For the lasagna:
1 lb. lasagna noodles (no-cook noodles are actually quite good, and make everything a bit simpler)
1 small yellow onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup finely chopped mushrooms (whatever type you like)
3 eggs, beaten
2 bags (about 1 1/2 lbs) baby spinach leaves, finely chopped
2 lb Ricotta cheese
1/4 lb grated Parmesan
1/2 lb grated Mozzarella
Salt & pepper
Olive oil
What you do:
1. Preheat your oven to 350F.
2. First, let’s make the sauce. In a medium-sized, heavy-bottomed pan saute 3 minced garlic cloves and a small, finely diced onion in some olive oil.
3. When the onion is translucent, add the diced tomatoes, the tomato puree, summer savory, garlic salt, sugar (only if necessary; taste first to see if it’s sweet enough for you), water, and salt & pepper to taste. Lower heat and simmer for at least 1/2 hour.
4. Now, the lasagna. In a medium saucepan, saute a couple more minced garlic cloves, the second small, finely diced onion, and your chopped mushrooms until everything is nice and tender.
5. In a large mixing bowl, combine the spinach with the ricotta, parmesan, eggs, and onion/mushroom mixture, as well as a dash of salt & pepper.
6. Now it’s time to construct the dish. Lay 4 noodles in the bottom of a baking dish, placing them close together (if you use no-cook noodles they may not reach the sides of your dish. That’s totally fine; they’ll expand in the oven. If you use regular noodles, remember to cook them in advance and place them so that they fill the dish).
7. Layer on some of the spinach/cheese mixture, then a generous sprinkling of the shredded mozzarella, then tomato sauce, and repeat until you’ve used up everything (finish off with a layer of tomato sauce topped with a bit of mozzarella).
8. Cover the pan with foil and bake for 40 minutes. Remove foil and bake an additional 10 minutes.
9. Let the cooked lasagna rest about 10 minutes, so that it all settles in. Cut into slices, and serve – no need for accoutrements, but if you must have a side dish, garlic bread works in a pinch.
Oh, gorgeous.
